corrupt power divides the powerless

foreword to a series analyzing creation & maintenance of power

preface

The only way for a small number of elite to maintain control over the masses is to turn them against one another in order to prevent them from unifying against their oppressors. This phenomenon is present among racial, sexual, & religious minority groups, economic classes, cultural/regional groups, age groups, and genders.

“Identity politics” is a buzzword oft-used by the right as a dog whistle for the left’s embrace of diversity. It can and must be applied, however, to the intentional efforts by the corporate, political, and media elite to categorize all Americans into discrete groups, and stoke fear in each of the “other” as a threat to their values.

In these essays I attempt to dissect the specific ways in which the three branches of power (corporate, political/governmental, and media) have created and fed these definitions and divisions as a means to an end. I hope to make them an enjoyable read for anyone, but ultimately I’d like to provide clear, no-nonsense talking points for discussions with individuals deeply entrenched in the “identities” that they have adopted, in hopes that they question the origins of those identities.